Breeding zebra finches prioritize reproductive bout over self-maintenance under food restriction.

ABSTRACT: Reproduction requires high amounts of energy, and challenging environments during breeding can force parents to prioritize their current reproductive bout over self-maintenance or vice versa. However, little is known about how common stressors, such as food restriction, can influence these trade-offs during breeding, and the physiological mechanisms for these trade-off decisions. In this study, adult zebra finches (Taeniopygia castanotis) were subjected to a control diet (ad libitum) or a 40% food restriction while raising nestlings and fledglings, and we measured body mass, furculum fat, plasma corticosterone (CORT) and blood glucose levels of the parents at the time of pairing, when their offspring fledged, and when their offspring reached nutritional independence. We also measured body

SUBMITTER: Coutts VM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11556311 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature